Lamb of God Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
Lamb of God's follow-up to 2006's exceptionally brutal Sacrament returns the Virginia-based heavy metal outfit to the political soapbox that framed 2004's Ashes of the Wake. While Sacrament positioned itself firmly in the metalcore section of fan playlists, 2009's Wrath wraps itself in a relentless firestorm of Bay Area thrash. Despite a promising, heavily melodic instrumental intro ("The Passing") that fuses Black Album-era Metallica with the sonic artistry of Agalloch, Wrath ultimately descends into a black abyss of atonal riffing, machine-gun drumming, and forgettable lyrics peppered with clichéd metal outrage that stirs up a mighty storm, but no carnage. Wrath's production is as aggressive as ever (thanks to longtime LOG colleague Josh Wilbur), but so is nearly every major label alt/death/black/grindcore release in the 21st century -- all it takes is a few good choruses to separate a band from the herd, something that Lamb of God have done in the past, but not so this time around. The band does occasionally step outside of its comfort zone ("Grace" lives up to its name with some truly inspired early and midsong guitar work, while "Reclamation" mines epic, Sabotage-era Black Sabbath), and there's no denying the sheer "angry basement workout/summer garage weightlifting" potential that Wrath's perfectly acceptable 45-minute running time offers, but without a single hook that sticks around long enough to reel in the fish, all you've got is bait. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Virginia metalcore kings Lamb of God get personal on the blistering Sacrament, an 11-track onslaught of machine gun riffs and larynx-shredding vocals filtered through an immaculately mapped-out rhythm section that owes as much to progressive rock as it does traditional heavy metal. Producer Machine, who helped craft 2004's Ashes of the Wake into one of the best metal records of the year, has returned, tightening his wrench and experimenting on Randy Blythe's voice like a fever-mad scientist. Longtime fans will no doubt debate the virtues of Sacrament's commercial bullet, the scathing White Zombie-meets-Megadeth single "Redneck," but the rest of the album is as brutal as anything they've ever done. Melodic opener "Walk with Me in Hell" culls inspiration from Piece of Mind-era Iron Maiden, "Pathetic" wraps itself around a sinewy lead that sounds like a snake swallowing dinner, and "Blacken the Cursed Sun," easily one of the best metal songs of 2006, shows further evidence of the band's potential to become the American version of Opeth. If Sacrament suffers from anything, it's a pounding sense of sameness. They rarely stray from the "Drop D" tuning, resulting in a second half that tends to blur, shake, and sputter out a bit, but there's no denying Lamb of God's almost unnerving power to conjure wind from the tiniest of stereo speakers. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Come now, let us all genuflect before Lamb of God, for to them we owe our metal souls. In the fat rat-infested, decrepit tenement called Heavy Rock Manor, the Virginia-based shock unit is one of the few groups striving to keep the power on and the hallways clear of gluttonous rap-rock/post-grunge False Marias. Yes, yes, Ashes of the Wake arrives via Epic Records, but this only will inflame the ire of the ignorant. For the rest of us, Lamb's ascendance to the majors melts a little more of the crap rock golden calf. Where previous efforts were fully automatic hot LZs, they were also slightly muddled for the very same reason. They fired in all directions. With Ashes, producer Machine has sharpened the corner of every riff and tightened the turns on classicist metal gallops. Best of all, Randy Blythe's furious yawp is more focused. Rather than simply being another scary voice shouter, Blythe becomes Lamb of God's threshold of pain conduit. "Laid to Rest" begins with his measured statements -- "If there was a single day I could live...I'd trade all the others away" -- flanked by the at-odds guitars of Willie Adler and Mark Morton. But then Blythe unleashes his demonic throat, and the guitars leap over and across one another like basilisks on a prowl for ibex kids. "Hourglass" offers more, its interlocking rhythms and breakdowns harking to the dark lands of Scandinavia. But it doesn't go all the way there. This is American metal, after all, meaning that, in the tradition of Pantera and Poison the Well, large-form grandiosity is sacrificed in favor of a muscularity derived from hardcore and hard living. The aptly named "Omerta" begins with that code's reading. "Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward." It proceeds to stalk slowly into gear, the sound of a wounded man coming after his would-be murderers. "Blood of the Scribe" refits death metal's cadence for a leaner, meaner era; the less than subtle "Now You've Got Something to Die For" offers the kids a new unifying chant, not to mention some spectacularly martial instrumental breaks. Drummer Chris Adler really shines here, with Machine ensuring his snare is a steely bullet fired by viscous double bass gunpowder. Instrumental freaks will swallow the title track whole. Guest soloists Alex Skolnick (Testament) and Chris Poland (Megadeth) each get a taste, alongside Morton and Adler -- their insane fretting sounds like a city exploding. That's what Lamb of God does for us, what it does for metal in the 21st century. With the genre getting clogged by PVC goofs and Alice in Chains impersonators, Lamb of God balances the equation of power, rage, tradition, and craft. It kills the filler. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'As the Palaces Burn'
Release Date 5/6/2003
Tracks 10
Label Prosthetic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Lamb of God 's New American Gospel debut featured a caustic yet lucid version of post-Pantera death metal, surprisingly effective songwriting, massive amounts of confidence for a brand new band, and, to be honest, a really annoying drum sound (rather like tightly skinned tin cans). Even though the latter point is certainly subject to opinion, at least the other two positive attributes can be partly explained by the group having already cut an earlier album while still going by the rather unsavory name of Burn the Priest. Which about catches everyone up to discuss the band's second effort as Lamb of God, 2003's equally impressive As the Palaces Burn. First off, gone is that out-of-whack percussive curiosity (thanks, boys!), but the band's knack for conjuring tasty riffs out of death metal's tired and weathered carcass remains intact, and it's pleasantly refreshing to discover something memorable and compelling about virtually every song. Among these, the excellent tandem of "Ruin" and the title track offer a powerful opening salvo, and additional highlights such as "11th Hour," "Boot Scraper," and the absolutely monstrous "Vigil" continually insert dark, distinctive melody lines within the heaviest of riffs. Further progress can be heard in vocalist Randy Blythe's performance, as he continues to shed his latent Anselmo-isms to strike a far more individual presence behind the mike. And still, for all of these positives, one can't help but feel in the end that there's still a wealth of untapped talent just beneath the surface here. If Lamb of God can maintain their momentum and actually figure it out, they may well find themselves at the top of America's heavy metal stack one day. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
'New American Gospel'
Release Date 9/26/2000
Tracks 10
Label Metal Blade
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The essential signatures of post-Pantera metal are in abundance on Lamb of God's inaugural album (though they had issued a disc under the name Burn the Priest). A veritable cornucopia of double picking and double-kick drumming, New American Gospel provides a mighty oak upon which gritty American metal's faith is maintained, effectively bridging the '90s' insistence upon drill-sergeant technicality and the old school's determined focus on riff construction. Both kick and snare beats are as insistent as pneumatic drilling, and beyond that, they are diamond-precise, riveted flawlessly into place by Steve Austin's Today Is the Day drum-heavy production. Lamb of God plays a brand of heavy -- emphasis on heavy -- metal not unlike Meshuggah having jettisoned some of their mathematical insistence. What elevates this Richmond, VA, quintet's assault above the majority of modern metal is the attention given to constructing definite melody and complete songs; this is a creative act who generally is subordinated by most metallers to the pursuit of heaviness. Lamb of God does both tastefully in the proper balance. [New American Gospel was reissued in 2006 with five bonus tracks.] ~ Patrick Kennedy, All Music Guide
